The present invention relates to a novel one-step process for making indene.
A number of techniques are known for making indene. The most common route is via a Diels-Alder addition of cyclopentadiene to butadiene to generate tetrahydroindene which is dehydrogenated to yield indene. Indene may also be obtained from coal tar.
The Diels-Alder route to indene is disadvantageous because it is a two-step process, while it is extremely difficult to obtain pure indene (required for polymerization) from coal tar.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new one-step direct route for producing indene recoverable in highly pure form.